• 9 per cent would have to cease business operations immediately
• Most cloud users have contingency plans and have backed up important data outside the cloud

Internet disruptions, power cuts or problems with a software update: if cloud-based applications were to suddenly fail or become inaccessible, many German companies would face massive problems. Almost half of all companies (46 per cent) would have to cease business operations sooner or later. One in eleven (9 per cent) would be unable to continue working even at the very moment of the outage. 2 per cent expect they would be able to carry on for 6 to 11 hours, 4 per cent for 12 to 24 hours, 10 per cent for 24 to 48 hours, and one-fifth (21 per cent) for more than 48 hours. A quarter of companies (24 per cent) would not be so severely affected by a cloud outage that they would have to cease business operations at some point; 14 per cent do not use any cloud services at all, and 16 per cent do not know or do not wish to comment. On average, cloud users estimate that they would be able to continue working for around three days (78 hours). These are the findings of a representative survey of 603 companies in Germany with 20 or more employees, commissioned by the digital industry association Bitkom, including 517 companies (86 per cent) that use the cloud.

“A functioning cloud is just as important for companies as a stable power supply and access to the internet. Office software, communication tools, databases and even AI solutions are unavailable in the event of a cloud disruption, yet they are indispensable for the day-to-day operations of many companies,” says Bitkom President Dr Ralf Wintergerst. “At the same time, using cloud services is often more secure and stable than relying on in-house servers. It is therefore important to integrate the cloud into a company’s security strategy.”

Over the past twelve months, 28 per cent of companies using cloud services have experienced serious cloud outages. They are already taking various measures to mitigate the consequences and minimise the impact on work processes as much as possible. The most common measure is the use of emergency and recovery plans, which 82 per cent have in place. Three-quarters (75 per cent) have backed up important data outside the cloud; two-thirds (69 per cent) monitor the cloud services themselves so they can react quickly; 68 per cent have entered into contractual agreements with cloud providers; and 66 per cent can initiate emergency operations using local solutions. Six in ten companies (59 per cent) have distributed applications across different systems; one-third (35 per cent) have redundant systems; and 8 per cent use a second cloud provider as a measure to protect themselves against cloud outages.

Bitkom has published further data on cloud usage in Germany in the “Cloud Report 2026”, which is available to download free of charge at: www.bitkom.org/Bitkom/Publikationen/Cloud-Report-2026